Car-coupling



(No Model.)

-A. 1E. KUH'LMANN.

OAR COUPLING.

Patented-May 25,1897

N VE N 70/? Jada yfizummm A TTOHNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE,

ADOL PH FRIDERICH KUHLMANN, OF LA CROSSE, lVISCONSIN.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 583,380, dated May 25,1897'.

Application filed February 23,1897. Serial No. 624,621. (No model.)

To coZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADOLPH FRIDERICH KUHLMANN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at La Crosse, in the county of La Crosse an d State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention has relation to improvements in automatic carcouplings; andthe object is to provide a simple and effective device of this kind thatmay be applied to the ordinary draw-head coupling pin and link now inuse.

To this end the novelty consists in the construction, combination, andarrangement of the several parts of the same, as will be hereinaftermore fully described, an d particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings the same referenee-characters indicate thesame parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved car-coupling. Fig. 2 is afront elevation of the same, showing the coupling-pin raised. Fig. 3 isa longitudinal section through the draw-bar. Fig. at is a bottom planview of the coupling pin tripping mechanism.

1 represents the usual draw-head, and 2 the ordinary coupling-pin.

3 is a horizontal transverse shaft sliding horizontally in bearings 4 aton the end of the car, and its outer end terminates in a dependingcrank-handle 5,while its inner end is bent horizontally forward andforms a lever U, the end of which terminates in a spring-eye 7, in whichis suspended a bail 8. This bail 8 is formed with integral dependingparallel spring-arms 9 9, the lower ends of which terminate in integraloblong parallel eyes 10 10, which engage the opposite edges of theflange 12 on the head of the coupling-pin 2.

13 represents a loose link which slides snugly down over the arms 9 9 toclamp the eyes 10 10 on the pin and prevent its accidental displacement,and by slipping the link 13 up 011 the arms they are allowed to springapart, and consequently release the pin when necessary.

14 represents an approximately horizontal shaft diagonally journaled ina corresponding bearing 15, mounted on the end of the car, and its lowerend extends horizontally forward to form the arm 16, terminating in aninwardly and rearwardly formed lug 17, the upper face of the outer end,of which is pro vided with a fixed vertical stud 18.

19 represents a V-shaped pawl or dog pivoted at one end to the outer endof the arm 16 by a bolt 20, and the bottom face of said dog is providedwith a recess 21, which permits a limited lateral play of the dog on thelug 17.

22-represents a rigid bracket secured to the car to limit the outwardmovement of the arm 16. The upper end of the shaft 14 is turned slightlyforward to form a finger 23, which extends under the horizontal lever 6to support the coupling-pin in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. 1.

When the draw-head carrying the link on the opposite car strikes thebeveled face 24 of the dog 19, it forces the arm 16 laterally outward,withdrawing the finger 23 from under the lever 6, thereby allowing thecouplingpin to fall by gravity and engage the link to couple the cars.

When it becomes necessary to raise the coupling-pin and sustain it in.this position indefinitely, the crank-handle 5 is elevated and thendrawn outwardly to insert the inner end of the lever 6 in the horizontalrecess 42 in the bearing 4", so that the cars may be pushed aboutwithout coupling them. It. will be noticed that the eye 7 in the outerend of the lever 6 is formed by a spring-clip 7 which retains the bail Sin a groove formed in the upper face of the outer end of the lever, andin case of an accidentas, for example, the draw-head leaving the ear andcarrying the pin with itthe bail S will pull clear of the lever withoutotherwise damaging or deranging the mechanism permanently fixed to thecar.

It will thus be seen that the entire operation of coupling isautomatically performed without even the presence of thebrakeman, and inuncoupling the cars he is not even required to go between them, as hecan raise and set the coupling-pin from the side of the car by means ofthe crank-handle 5, and in performing this operation it is onlynecessary to raise the crank-handle 5, when the lever 6 strikes againstthe under side of the finger 23, pushing it out of the way until thelever has passed above it, when it immediately falls back by gravityinto the path of said lever, which is then released and allowed to reston the top of said finger and support the pin in an elevated position,as above described.

hen it is desired to couple the cars, the link is inserted in thedraw-head so as to rest on the dog 19, which supports the free end ofthe link in a horizontal position to readily enter the oppositedraw-head when the cars come together. lVhen this occurs, the draw headstrikes the beveled face of the dog, forces it out of the way, and atthe same time withdraws the supporting-finger from under the lever 6 andallows the pin to drop through the link and couple the cars.

Although I have described the particular manner of carrying out myinvention, I do not wish to limit myself to this precise construction,as it is evident that various modifications of the same will readilysuggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which it appertainswithout departing from the spirit thereof. 1

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new anduseful, and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States,

An automatic car-coupling, comprising the draw-head 1, and thecoupling-pin 2, provided with an annular flange 12, in combination withthe transverse horizontal shaft, 3, journaled in bearings 4: 4, itsouter end provided with a depending crank-handle 5, and its inner endwith a forwardly-projecting horizontal lever 6, terminating in an eyev7, a bail S suspended from said eye 7 and formed with the spring-arms 99, terminating in oblong eyes 10 10, adapted to engage the oppositesides of the flange 12, on the coupling-pin, a loose link 13encompassing the arms 9 9, and the diagonal shaft 1a journaled in thebearing 15, and having its upper end terminating in a forwardly'inclinedfinger 23, adapted to engage and support the lever t5 and couplingpinand its lower end formed with a forwardly-projecting arm 16, providedwith a V-shaped pivoted dog 19, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPH FRIDERICH KUULVANN.

Witnesses:

JOHN J. ESCI-I, W. J. Thomson.

